An Untitled Fic for The Forbidden Game
by Moonquake
Summary: I really have no idea. Julian may or may not be dead. Jenny has a bit of conflict with Tom. Gah...I'm writer's blocking, so I don't know. We'll all just have to wait and see what comes next.


I suddenly felt a compelling urge to write a Forbidden Game fic...I've been planning to for a long time, but now, at 1:00 am, when I'm really tired and want to go to bed, NOW I feel like writing. angry at herself So...write I shall. Gah.... And if I get any facts or anything wrong, you can't blame me. I've only read each book once about a year ago and I had to return them to the library, so I don't even own them. tear Anyway, it takes place right after Julian...::sniff::...well, you know. And if you don't know, then you SHOULD know! Go get the books before you read this! Gah! ::twitch::

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Julian cracked his eyes slowly open and lifted his head painfully, only to see a black nothingness before him. He groaned and tried to pick himself up, but failed to stand.  
  
Am I dead? he thought to himself. Well, obviously, I have to be. They took my name off the runestave.

That's all he could do: think. His breath came in ragged gasps as he tried to find his voice. The thought "where am I?" repeated in his head as he tried to say it aloud. Even the strain to see in the endless darkness drained him from the little strength he had left in him. It was too much. He let his head fall softly back onto the cold ground and let unconsciousness take over.

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"No, no, no, no, no...," Jenny whispered, staring at the ring Julian had given her. Her last thought was in her mind. "All I refuse and thee I chuse." These words had been repeating themselves ever since Julian disappeared in her arms yesterday. Now, it was early morning, about 2:30. Jenny seemed to have been in a trance ever since the moment she lost Julian and she has yet to snap out of it.

Michael, Audrey, Dee, Zach and Summer exchanged mournful glances and made a silent agreement to get a move on. Dee and Michael shakily stood and helped Jenny to her feet, who was resisting to stand. Her legs were numb. In fact, her whole body seemed to be numb...inside and out. "This couldn't have happened...he can't be gone. No, he's not gone. Whenever I think he's gone, he comes back. He always comes back...," Jenny said. She paused for a moment, forcing tears back. "He has to come back...," she whispered, even though she could hear the doubt in her voice.

Tom's expression was looking darker than ever. More than anything, Jenny wanted to confort him. To assure him that he's the only one she cares about. To make him know that Julian meant nothing...nothing compared to him. But, she couldn't. She couldn't lie anymore. It was all a lie and she knew it. And somewhere deep inside of her, she knew Tom knew it, too. Julian had played a game with Tom...and Tom lost. But, so did Jenny. And even Julian. "We've all lost, now," thought Jenny to herself hopelessly.

Dee was half-dragging Jenny towards the living room. Jenny, on the other hand, didn't notice. She didn't notice anything. She was lost in thought about one thing: Julian. Julian had become a part of her...now he's gone. A part of her is gone.

Audrey looked around the room. The entire house was in silence. Not a sound could be heard save for the soft, uneven breaths of Jenny who was trying so hard not to cry. "I think, maybe, we should all get some rest...it's been a long night," Summer said hesitantly. She had no idea what else to say...or what kind of response she'd get. Jenny was staring blankly in front of her, unseeingly. After a minute or two, she nodded her head.

"Rest...rest...yes, rest. We need rest." Jenny was in oblivion. Her voice was far away...it didn't even sound familiar to her own ears. She had passed the crying faze and was now dead to the world.

Audrey looked at Jenny. "We can sleep here tonight. Then, later...maybe a little past noon, we can see about how to get back home."

Jenny made the slightest noise that sounded as if she were about to mumble something. Audrey assumed that meant "okay".

"Should we all sleep in the same room or what?" Dee said to the rest of the group. "I mean, we don't really have the...problem...he kinda had before...." Dee said hesitantly.

Jenny jumped as if she hadn't realized any of them were there. "No, it's okay," she insisted. "Really," she added to the concerned expressions of her friends who had stuck by her side from day one. She knew what she needed. Alone time. She needed to think. About what, she didn't know, but whatever it was, she had to think about it...by herself.  
  
Zach sighed, gazing down into the floor, then picked his head back up to look at the bunch. "Well, I guess we'd better get to bed, then."  
  
"Mm-hm," Michael mumbled as he put his hands on his knees and pushed himself up to his feet and looked around. "I think the bedrooms are upstairs."  
  
"Yeah. Come on, Jenny," Dee uttered, helping Jenny to her feet. Jenny still felt like Jello. She knew the feeling would never entirely go away.  
  
Audrey interrupted the scene. "Wait...how many rooms are there?"  
  
Jenny was starting to get her sanity back. "I don't know...I only know that there's not enough bedrooms for us all. I'll sleep in the living room," she suggested.  
  
"Are you sure?" Tom argued. Jenny nodded and attempted to smile. She could tell it looked forced.  
  
After Jenny got a pillow and blanket from one of the bedrooms on the next floor, she settled in on one of the couches in the vast living room. She hadn't wanted to cry in front of her friends and even then, she could barely control it. But now, she knew it was safe to cry...no one would see her. No one would know. Tears were weakness and emotions simply got in the way. It was because of emotion that Jenny had met Julian in the first place. She was worried about the party and for Tom and she ended up in the More Games store. But, now, she wanted to change. She wanted to feel nothing at all. To have a core of stone.  
  
She leaned against the pillow, her hands convering her face, sobbing uncontrollably. No one would see. No one would know. It was a strange feeling. There was always someone who saw...someone who knew: Julian. He was always there, whether she wanted him to be or not. He was always watching. At this thought, she didn't think it would be possible for the endless sadness to ever cease. The tears came still harder and she turned on her side, facing the back of the couch. She buried her face into the soft cushion and willed herself to let the tears dry.  
  
Then, it happened. It was a kind of tingling in her back. It was a sense that she always got when she felt eyes on her...and that gut feeling had never yet been wrong. Someone was in the room. Jenny bolted upright in one movement and cast her eyes around the room. She saw a silhouetted figure in the doorway of the living room. She prayed it was who she thought it was.  
  
"Julian?" she whispered hopefully.  
  
The figure laughed...it was a bitter laugh...and stepped closer. "Julian?" he mocked, mimicking Jenny's voice. Jenny squinted as the figure came closer. He sat on the end of the couch and gazed into her eyes piercingly. It was Tom.  
  
"I thought he didn't mean anything to you." His voice was hard, but Jenny could also sense the hurt in it that he masked well with a tone of anger.  
  
"Tom..." she began. She paused to let out a long sigh and shook her head. "I didn't know what he meant. But...I do now."  
  
"So do I," he uttered, never taking his gaze off of Jenny.  
Jenny continued. "And that's not the only thing that's changed..."  
  
"I know," Tom retorted with contempt in his voice. Obviously contempt for Julian.  
"And this is the part where we both say our last good-byes and go our seperate ways, right?" he spat, glaring. Her breath caught in her throat. Tom had never talked like this to her before. It was probably because Jenny just confirmed what Tom had been afraid of ever since she met Julian. But, the tone in his voice and the vicious gleam in his eyes definately struck a nerve.  
  
"Get out, Tom." Tom started to protest, but Jenny quickley interrupted before he even began. "Please, just go," she stressed. Defiantly, he didn't budge.  
  
"I'm not going anywhere until I get my word in about this!"  
  
"Haven't you already implied enough?" Jenny stood up and thrusted her index finger at the door. "Go!" Tom began to rise from his seat, but didn't move an inch. Jenny, staring angrily at him all the while, blindly grabbed her pillow and hurled it at him. "Go!" she repeated. This time, the sob was back in her voice. Tears once again began to stream down her cheeks, shining in the moonlight that poured in through the windows. She couldn't tell if they were tears of sadness or tears of anger and frustration anymore. "Get out!" she yelled as she heaved one of the larger couch cushions at him.  
  
Tom caught it with one hand and threw it on the floor at her feet. "Alright," he whispered curtly, his eyes blazing. He backed out of the room.  
  
Jenny didn't dare sit again until she heard the footsteps make their way completely up the stairs and back into their original bedroom. She then picked up the cushion and fit it in neatly into the couch and fell back on it. She didn't have the energy to cry anymore. It was giving her a headache, anyway. Instead, she sank into the sofa and forced herself to fall asleep as soon as possible.

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Yes, this is a short, crappy chapter. The next one will be better, I promise. I just have writer's block, which is really bad.... I can't think of how to continue any of my stories. Gah! Oh, if anyone has any ideas on how I should continue, please feel free to talk to me about them. Please review...or else. Ger. O.o


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